I glanced back to Robert, whose voice had been just as short and terse as his father’s. Robert Sr. didn’t respond, simply turning toward the hostess.
“I need to go as well,” I stated, secretly loathing the idea of parting ways with him, but also torn between the anger I felt.
“Take my card.” He didn’t even wait for me to respond when he grasped my hand with his and placed his business card in my palm. “When you call just tell my assistant your name and she’ll put you through.”
I assumed with that he would turn and go to join his father. But I was wrong. He stood there, staring for a few heartbeats into my eyes. I was powerless to look away. And my breath hitched in my throat when a small smile touched his lips. For an instant, it felt as if I was viewing the sunrise after a long slumber. He bent low and pressed a kiss to my cheek. To any passerby it would appear innocent enough. However, the shiver that ran through my body when his lips touched my skin, and while he ran his thumb against the pulsing vein of my wrist, told an entirely different story. There was nothing innocent about this contact.
“I-I have a boyfriend,” I blurted out for lack of anything else to say. I just needed to make it known that whatever he was thinking couldn’t happen.
Robert pulled back, lifting an eyebrow, and an entirely different kind of smirk covered his face. “Not for much longer.”
And with that, he released my hand, taking one last fill of me with his eyes before turning and strolling away to meet up with his father.
It felt like I stood there for minutes when in reality it was likely only a few seconds. At some point, my brain began functioning again and I remembered that I had a job I needed to get back to. It took the two-block walk back into my office building, a ride on the elevator up to the twelfth floor, and the three minute walk from the elevator doors, through the glass doors of the office and to my desk, for me to recall that I still held Robert’s business card in my hand.
I placed the black card with silver lettering, which read Robert Townsend Vice President, Townsend Industries, on my desk. Below his name and title was his office number and extension. I ran my finger along the raised lettering on the card, and without a second thought, I brought it to my nose, secretly reveling in the faint smell of him. A mix of strength, cardamom, and cinnamon. I hadn’t forgotten that smell in the half a decade that we’d been apart.
“Deborah.”
I startled at the knock on my office door. Dropping the card and turning to the voice that called me, I gave a shaky, embarrassed smile.
“Jake, how can I help you?” I questioned my boss.
“Our meeting is in ten minutes. Making sure you have the files.”
I nodded and smoothed down the side of my knee-length, black skirt. “Yes, they’re right here.” I tapped the manila folder that rested on my desk.
Jake mentioned a few more notes to be aware of for our meeting before departing. As soon as he did, I slid Robert’s business card into the top drawer of my desk. I needed to focus on work and forget any notions I had of speaking to Robert Townsend again. He and I were long over.
Or so I thought.
****
Present
Deborah
“I don’t like that Cohen guy,” Destiny stated, frowning as we sat around the newly furnished conference room.
It was a Wednesday afternoon and Destiny, Michelle, Kayla, and Patience had taken time off from work or with the kids to help complete some of the last minute work that needed to get done for the shelter’s soft opening the following week.
I stood from the cushioned armchair that I’d been sitting in to stretch.
“Trust me, you really won’t like him once you hear the rest of the story.”
“So tell us,” Patience insisted.
I shook my head. “We don’t have time. The story isn’t going anywhere and we have a few applications to review.”
Patience nodded. “I do need to complete the application for that state grant, as well as finish registering us with the local library for visits over the next few months. According to our last count, eight of the women who we’ll be servicing have at least one child. We definitely want to get everyone registered for library cards.”
“Of course you do,” Michelle joked, teasing Patience because she was passionate about reading and starting children off with a book in their hand. “Also, there’s an opening for an intern at my company. I wonder if any of the women would be interested in event planning?” Michelle mused out loud.
I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ve found that women who are down and out often want more for themselves. Usually, they just don’t know how to get there and need to be presented with the opportunities.”
“Amen,” Kayla spoke up, waving her hand in the air, causing us all to giggle. Kayla was the most animated out of all of us.
“But before we get back to work, you could give us a little more of the scoop on Cohen, right? He really had you paying for his lunch?” Destiny questioned, sounding almost incredulous.
